What's Wrong with Kevin?

[moiso]

I feel that many of the alley oop pass misses aren't because hes still out of shape but because he wasn't ready for them. I recall a few that he didn't see them coming until it was too late and didn't get there in time. And one pass that was a little too high in the air.
He has missed a few good one but lets face it, he's older and has had surgery. It's going to take a long time before he's back to himself. And at this age "himself" probably won't be what you're used to seeing.

At some point Rondo is going to have to stop throwing them if KG isn't finishing.  That wouldn't be cool.

I think it's as much of a timing issue as it is a physical one, personally.  By the end of the year (when it matters), he'll be back in sync.

Yeah I put as much of the blame for those misses on Rondo as I do KG.  He seems to be forcing the alley a little too much.  It's one of his favorite plays and he is anxious to get it back working consistenly.

True.  And the margin for error is pretty small right now with Kevin's condition.  The pass has to be perfect.

[Onslaught]

I feel that many of the alley oop pass misses aren't because hes still out of shape but because he wasn't ready for them. I recall a few that he didn't see them coming until it was too late and didn't get there in time. And one pass that was a little too high in the air.
He has missed a few good one but lets face it, he's older and has had surgery. It's going to take a long time before he's back to himself. And at this age "himself" probably won't be what you're used to seeing.

At some point Rondo is going to have to stop throwing them if KG isn't finishing.  That wouldn't be cool.

I think it's as much of a timing issue as it is a physical one, personally.  By the end of the year (when it matters), he'll be back in sync.

I agree. I think unless it's a safe bet then perhaps Rondo shouldn't throw them up for the time being until he's all the way back. It just gives people more ammo on the "KG is broken" front.

[fairweatherfan]

From the first game to now, it looks to me like KG's gotten a lot of his lateral quickness back, but his vertical is still off.  He just can't get up like he used to.  Whether or not this is temporary remains to be seen, but right now I'd say that's the biggest thing hampering him physically. 

When Larry came back in 89-90, his jumpshot was off for quite a while because his legs hadn't fully recovered.  Might be the same deal with Kevin so far.

[Fafnir]

I feel that many of the alley oop pass misses aren't because hes still out of shape but because he wasn't ready for them. I recall a few that he didn't see them coming until it was too late and didn't get there in time. And one pass that was a little too high in the air.
He has missed a few good one but lets face it, he's older and has had surgery. It's going to take a long time before he's back to himself. And at this age "himself" probably won't be what you're used to seeing.

At some point Rondo is going to have to stop throwing them if KG isn't finishing.  That wouldn't be cool.

I think it's as much of a timing issue as it is a physical one, personally.  By the end of the year (when it matters), he'll be back in sync.

I agree. I think unless it's a safe bet then perhaps Rondo shouldn't throw them up for the time being until he's all the way back. It just gives people more ammo on the "KG is broken" front.

Who cares what other people say. Rondo needs to work on throwing lobs KG can score on, just like KG needs to work on converting Rondo's passes.

[SamuelAdams]

Knee surgeries always take two years for the athlete to fully recover.  There is the physical healing and then the mental trusting. Do you recall TA telling him to try to not think about it and just play.  Given that, I think KG is ahead of where others may normally be.

[Rondo2287]

I feel that many of the alley oop pass misses aren't because hes still out of shape but because he wasn't ready for them. I recall a few that he didn't see them coming until it was too late and didn't get there in time. And one pass that was a little too high in the air.
He has missed a few good one but lets face it, he's older and has had surgery. It's going to take a long time before he's back to himself. And at this age "himself" probably won't be what you're used to seeing.

At some point Rondo is going to have to stop throwing them if KG isn't finishing.  That wouldn't be cool.

I think it's as much of a timing issue as it is a physical one, personally.  By the end of the year (when it matters), he'll be back in sync.

I agree. I think unless it's a safe bet then perhaps Rondo shouldn't throw them up for the time being until he's all the way back. It just gives people more ammo on the "KG is broken" front.

Who cares what other people say. Rondo needs to work on throwing lobs KG can score on, just like KG needs to work on converting Rondo's passes.

Im not sure whats more frustrating, watching missed lob passes that result in turnovers, or watching Rondo continue to pass up open shots.  I really dont care if he misses them, I just want him to take them.  Same with getting to the rim and passing instead of trying to finish

[Brickowski]

I just think his timing is off.  He'll have it back by the all star break, or sooner.

[drza44]

Did anybody see him take over in the fourth quarter last night.  He was key on several stops towards the end of the game as well as scoring some big buckets at the other end.  I thought he really turned it on at the end of the game.  

Were we watching the same game?  He didn't make a shot in the 4th quarter, and clanked his patented 18 footers.  He played good defense yes, but his offensive game was off in that last quarter.

I dunno, my memory matches more with what Rondo2287 said.  And the play-by-play supports the memory.  From the time that the Cs were down 1 with about 4 minutes left, the only buckets that the entire team scored were the two layups that KG spoonfed to Rondo and Perk.  Then, he makes the game-ending defensive stop on Brewer.  It's hard to argue that he wasn't the key for the Celtics down the stretch on both offense and defense.

[GreenFaith1819]

Good discussions..

I believe that KG will be back to the same KG....with the exception of the natural progression of age affecting his (and everyone elses) stats and abilities.

My prediction is that KG will be back in his best possible form after the New Year.

Continue to keep his minutes down with Sheed and Shelden as well.

[Roy Hobbs]

Knee surgeries always take two years for the athlete to fully recover.  There is the physical healing and then the mental trusting. Do you recall TA telling him to try to not think about it and just play.  Given that, I think KG is ahead of where others may normally be.

I think the two year time frame is for the typical case, with ligament damage.  If the team is to believed here, there was no tear in the ACL, MCL, patella tendon, etc.  Rather, they shaved a bone spur that was rubbing up again a tendon.  I'm not sure what the time frame is for that, but it's probably not the same as for other dissimilar injuries.

[drza44]

On topic, I'd say that it is too early to know exactly what KG's ceiling will be once his legs are fully back under him.  I will say, though, that it appears to me that he is using the early part of the season as an extended pre-season.  He seems to be working on his timing, working on his jumper, and working on his wind.  When he does expend extra energy it's on defense, as I haven't really seen him try to force the offense yet.

As for the Rondo alley-oops, I would think now would be the perfect time for them to work the kinks out.  Especially in games that are blowouts.  As Roy has pointed out in the past, several of the misses have been KG back-rimming them (timing issue) not under-rimming them like earlier in the preseason.

[footey]

Knee surgeries always take two years for the athlete to fully recover.  There is the physical healing and then the mental trusting. Do you recall TA telling him to try to not think about it and just play.  Given that, I think KG is ahead of where others may normally be.

I think the two year time frame is for the typical case, with ligament damage.  If the team is to believed here, there was no tear in the ACL, MCL, patella tendon, etc.  Rather, they shaved a bone spur that was rubbing up again a tendon.  I'm not sure what the time frame is for that, but it's probably not the same as for other dissimilar injuries.

Agreed. I think it is rust plus rehab plus age.

Remember, we are comparing his current performance with what he provided two years ago, not so much last year, where he was out alot, and playing injured.  31 then, 33 now, a period when significant physical decline is to be expected. When you factor in his extended minutes in NBA since HS, a case could be made that he is equivalent of 35 or 36 in "NBA years". 

[BudweiserCeltic]

On topic, I'd say that it is too early to know exactly what KG's ceiling will be once his legs are fully back under him.  I will say, though, that it appears to me that he is using the early part of the season as an extended pre-season.  He seems to be working on his timing, working on his jumper, and working on his wind.  When he does expend extra energy it's on defense, as I haven't really seen him try to force the offense yet.

As for the Rondo alley-oops, I would think now would be the perfect time for them to work the kinks out.  Especially in games that are blowouts.  As Roy has pointed out in the past, several of the misses have been KG back-rimming them (timing issue) not under-rimming them like earlier in the preseason.

Back-rimming, and simply not securing the ball. I've seen a couple attempts where the ball simply slips from him as he goes for the dunk.

[RAcker]

Knee surgeries always take two years for the athlete to fully recover.  There is the physical healing and then the mental trusting. Do you recall TA telling him to try to not think about it and just play.  Given that, I think KG is ahead of where others may normally be.

I think the two year time frame is for the typical case, with ligament damage.  If the team is to believed here, there was no tear in the ACL, MCL, patella tendon, etc.  Rather, they shaved a bone spur that was rubbing up again a tendon.  I'm not sure what the time frame is for that, but it's probably not the same as for other dissimilar injuries.

But Roy, Simmons has a reliable source that says there were staples man.  Staples I say!!!    

[QuinielaBox]

Nothing really, The Celtics are 6 and 0 at this point.

Let us not lose perspective of that. We don't need him to score 20 a night to win. We need his defense and energy and I think he is still bringing that to the court every night.